Amazing Grace
by sluggy94
Summary: When Grace finally takes the opportunity to escape her life full of hardship and move to Pelican Town, she hopes to make the most of a new chapter of quiet and solitude. She would have never guessed the turmoil, life decisions and emotions that lay before her in this quiet town. She begins to question if she is cut out for this life, and if she is ready to love again.
1. Prologue

His face was inches from mine as we stood in the doorway. There was absolutely no sound except the soft wind rustling the crops planted by the house. Half his face was illuminated by the dim glow of the fire torches of the fence posts. This was the turning point. This was the make or break. I felt his hot breath on my face and I swear I could almost hear his heart beating as fast as mine. Without saying a word, and his eyes still locked with mine, he slowly took my bandaged hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing my knuckles and fingers softly. I let myself take a small step forward until my chest was pressed against him and I could feel his warm body almost tremble. After what felt like an eternity of delicate and deliberate kisses, he moved my hand so that it rested against his cheek. I felt his rough skin and gazed into his eyes, wanting nothing more than for this moment to last forever, for us to never feel anything but this, to never make any other choices except for standing this close. He leaned in and pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. This was it; I knew I wanted every inch of his bare skin as close to mine as it could be. I felt my body take over and start to tilt my chin up to his. Suddenly he sucked a breath in and whispered.

"Grace, I'm leaving town."

* * *

I often wonder how it came to be that I ended up in that doorway with him. Of course, I do _know_ how it happened, but sometimes the series of events that led to me wanting him, and only him, is quite blurry. Its easier if I start at the beginning. If I look back to the first moment when I knew my life was going to change. I need to piece things together one by one. This is quite a feat, and it forces me to admit the things that I have been repressing and trying to forget for too long. My life hasn't been easy, but I like to think that everything happens for a reason, and I would never have ended up so in love if things hadn't happened the way they did. It scares me to think that if one small thing had changed, then perhaps our paths would have never crossed.


	2. Chapter 1 - Mr Osman and Joja Corp

"You're not meeting quota this term, Miss Grant…"

My boss' voice pierced my daydream like an arrow. I came back to reality and remembered where I was; a cold, dingy Joja Corporation office, surrounded by hundreds of desks of equally as miserable people. I looked up to his face and studied it for the hundredth time; long skinny nose, pointy chin, small beady black eyes. He had Joja written all over him. He looked down his nose at me and I could tell he was making a decision. I knew I wasn't fulfilling the requirements of the job for the last few months. I tried and tried, and Joja was indeed expanding, but I just couldn't bring myself sometimes to sell the products, knowing that they were unhealthy and that the company had no respect for communities or the environment. Joja was leading the country in carbon emissions, and had cut down more forests in the last year than any other large company. I felt sick of the idea of selling another stupid cola machine to some small town corner store. I sighed, perhaps a little too loud.

Mr. Osman licked his lips: "Come see me in my office in 20 minutes. We need to have a chat."

"Yes, sir", I answered, secretly groaning.

I didn't actually think I was going to lose my job. We had had many "chats", Mr. Osman and I, and although I got quite a few slaps on the wrists, he never actually fired me. I guess I was lucky, because employees were recycled way too often in this office, and when Mr. Osman was in a bad mood, they fell like flies. It would start with a quick warning, then a chat, then you were on your way out with a box of your things, looking for some other meaningless, sad job to devote your life to. So far my slate was not exactly clean, but interestingly enough I hadn't gotten the boot yet. This suited me well, because between rent and city expenses, I needed the money, even if the job seemed to be sucking my soul. Whenever I was in his office, Mr. Osman always seemed so uncomfortable; twitching and breathing hard and licking his lips. I was shocked to see how different he was from his usual strict and cold self once we were behind closed doors. He would read my numbers to me, stare at me with beads of sweat on his brow, give me a direct warning, and send me on my way back to my desk unharmed. It was just plain weird.

I had been thinking of Connor, my on-and-off boyfriend for four years now. He had proposed to me a few months prior, and I had agreed, but I knew very well that he never really followed through with things, so I had yet to actually call him my fiancé. I definitely was not thinking of our current life together, but back to when we first met and he was the only thing I wanted in the world. When he made me feel like I was needed and loved and safe. I guess that's how abusive men work, they treat you wonderfully just long enough so that you have a small pool of memories to hold onto, hoping and praying every day that life might be like that again. He got me hooked on being wanted, and now I was the one that needed him. I cut everyone out of my life, alienated myself from my friends and family who didn't approve, and now he was all I had. His once handsome face now showed the lines of years of hard alcohol and anger, his body was bony and cold with a swollen liver, and his eyes never shone anymore. Once in a while after a big fight, he would take me into his arms gently like he used to and all the memories would come flooding back, and I would forget the swearing and the ugly names he called me and the bruise on my arm where he had grabbed me, and I would be reminded of how all I had was him, and hang on for a little while longer.

I always told myself that it was the alcohol that made him into a monster, and that underneath all that addiction, he was still the same person who I first fell in love with. I told this to myself every day, desperately trying to convince myself that it was the truth, but there was still a small, silenced voice deep inside that always wanted to say that it wasn't. My life was routine and depressing now; wake up, get to work, endure a day of stress and belittlement from my boss, get home, cook a Joja TV dinner for Connor while he got drunk, then submit to his slurred curses and violent outbursts. Then, sometimes, after he had grabbed or shoved or shook me, he would tell me that he loved me and hold me just long enough to take my clothes off. Then he would climb on top of me and satisfy himself. I never reciprocated because I learned that I didn't need to; I just laid there and waited for it to be over. Then he would usually fall asleep and I would stand in the shower long enough to wash away my shame before climbing into bed myself.

When I string it all together like that, my life really is depressing.

Coming back to reality once again, I noticed that twenty minutes had passed, so I made my way through the sea of desks towards the door marked "O. OSMAN". I felt the eyes of the men in the office on me; staring at my legs, my small waist, or my long brown hair. I felt ashamed of myself for a reason I couldn't put my finger on. Taking in a long breath, I knocked on my boss' door.

"Come in and close the door", he answered.

I walked into the dark office that was illuminated faintly by a small rectangular window on one side. His large desk was in the middle of the room, and I closed the door and took a seat in the brown chair in front of it. Mr. Osman himself had his back to me, staring out the little window with his hands behind him. It seemed like quite a long moment had passed before he actually turned around to face me, his face sweaty and his lips pursed.

"I feel like you do your job poorly on purpose, Miss Grant," he said, peering down at me, "so that you and I can spend more quality time together." His lips curled into a smile at his own sick joke. I fought back a gag and tried a measly nervous laugh.

"I'm sorry Mr. Osman, I— "

"Please, call me Oscar" he said, staring at me with his creepy smile.

"I think I would prefer Mr. Osman, sir." I said nervously, looking at my hands, "I'm sorry about my numbers. I'm going through quite a rough patch at home and I apologize that it is disrupting my work here…"

He clicked his tongue and cocked his head to one side. I think he was trying to look adoring and compassionate, but it came across as predatory. He walked around to his side of the desk, but didn't sit down. He slid a paper towards me that had a Joja Corp. headline, though I couldn't make out the content.

"That is your termination letter, Miss Grant."

I didn't say anything but could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I guess my luck had just run out. I truly did hate the job, but I was the only source of income between Connor and I, and I knew I would be in trouble at home once he found out his drinking allowance was cut off. I didn't look up, but I felt Mr. Osman's stare.

"You are my favourite, you know," he said, "I always acted against my better judgement when your numbers were down because I really do love having you around. You bring such beauty to this office, dare I say, _arousal_."

I looked up at him in shock. "Sir…" I hesitated.

"You see," he interrupted, "this little piece of paper is merely a formality that I am pressured into giving employees with bad track records. Then they leave and I replace them. I have been giving you many chances, and my generosity is at its limit, Grace"

I cringed slightly at the use of my first name and at the uncomfortableness of the situation. Mr. Osman dabbed a handkerchief on his forehead to wipe off the beads of sweat, but he didn't take his eyes off me.

"I want to make this work out for you, Grace, but I need some encouragement from your end"

I quickly tried to salvage the conversation that seemed to be getting out of hand: "Sir I will improve my numbers, you have my word. I promise not to let my personal life affect my work life anymore." But his lustful look told me that he had other plans.

"On the contrary," he moved from the desk and started walking towards me, "I would like your work life to be as _personal_ as it can be…" he leaned over me as I cowered slightly in the chair, averting his gaze. "I am sure a beautiful woman like you can be very persuasive," he said as he reached out and softly dragged his thumb from my bottom lip to my chin and down my neck.

I was shaking. I quickly pulled my head away but he caught the back of my neck with his hand and knelt down beside me, caging me in my seat with the other arm. He was so close that I could smell his sour sweat and see the spit accumulating in the corners of his cracked lips. I turned my head away so that I didn't have to face him. His hand massaged the back of my neck and my shoulder and he ran his fingers through my hair while a shiver of disgust shot up my spine.

"You can save your job right here and now, Grace," his hand lowered to my neck and to my chest where he breathed heavily as he cupped my breast in his hand. He let out a little groan as he pressed his thumb into the flesh and it yielded slightly. My body could not have been more rigid and I craned my neck the other way, desperately trying to think of some happy memory to escape this situation. Mr. Osman's other hand found itself on my nylon-covered, sculpted thigh and I heard him whisper again: "That's it sweetheart, you are so lovely." He licked his lips. "Oh the wonderful things I would do to this beautiful body…" He squeezed my breast hard and forced his hand up my skirt. I squeezed my legs together as tightly as I could and whimpered as he tried to forced his hand between my legs, still breathing hard. "Don't resist me, let me save your job…" he groaned again.

I couldn't take it anymore. Job or no job, I couldn't bear his touch for another second. With all my might, I pushed him off me and he fell backwards onto the floor. His creepy smile quickly turned into rage as he struggled to get up.

"Get out of this office!" he screamed, red in the face, "You're fired!" but I was already out the door, rushing to my desk, pulling my skirt down further. Tears were once again in my eyes as I felt all the hundreds of nameless faces stare at me running from him. I was mortified and so ashamed. He slammed his office door and the building shook. I grabbed a box from under my desk and quickly starting throwing my things in it. I cleared the top of the desk and dumped out all the drawers' content. Now the tears were streaming down my face and I picked up the box and started to rush to the exit. I could still feel his hands on me, and I didn't know how long it would take in the shower to wash off this shame.

I finally got to my bus stop just as a bus was pulling up. I didn't even look at where it was going, I just wanted to get as far from Mr. Osman and Joja as I could. I sat down way in the back corner, but the bus was empty. I was breathing hard and trying to control my tears. After a few miles on the bus, my heart rate finally slowed and I was able to breathe normally. I needed to process what had happened, and what I was going to do, but I didn't know where to start. I didn't even know where I was going. I got up and walked to the front up the bus to talk to the driver.

"Excuse me sir, can you tell me where this bus is going?"

He laughed, "This is just a transfer bus, ma'am. We are headed to the central city bus depot." I knew that was miles from my apartment, but it was also miles from Joja Corp. I return to my seat.

Turning to my box, I realized my affairs were in complete disarray after my abrupt departure. I started to try and straighten them out. In the corner of the box, there was a thick, yellowed envelope that had become slightly squished. "That's odd," I said to myself. When I pulled it out and turned it over, it was sealed with a rich purple wax that had just begun to flake. I immediately recognized the old-fashioned seal and remembered this letter. My grandfather had given it to me when I was a child, and I had hidden it at work, still sealed, so that Connor would not find it. I could hear his words now:

"And for my very special granddaughter, I want you to have this sealed envelope. No, no, don't open it yet. Have patience. Now listen close…There will come a time when you feel crushed by the burden of your life, and your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my girl, you will be ready for this gift."

I knew this was that moment. I was never more ready for an escape, whatever it may be. I slowly broke the seal and opened the yellow envelope, pulling out an equally yellowed thick sheet. My eyes scanned the letter quickly as my heart started to race. My grandfather had left me his farm in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. I couldn't believe it. The key to escaping from everything I hated was right in my hands. I barely had time to think when the bus stopped and I looked up. We had pulled up to the bus depot. I grabbed my things, thanked the driver and got off the bus.

Almost on autopilot, I walked slowly to the board marked "DEPARTURES". With a slow breath in, I looked up and scanned for the words "Stardew Valley". There was only one bus leaving in 30 minutes. That was not enough time. I had nothing with me, no clothes, no food, only a little bit of money. This was crazy! What was I thinking, was I just ready to abandon my whole life and move to some farm? Sadly, I thought about the alternative. Connor would be furious, and we would be poor. I would never get a job reference from Joja, and the opportunity in the city was slim outside of the corporation. I looked back up, took a deep breath, and walked to the ticket counter.

I leaned into the glass. "One ticket for Stardew Valley, please."

* * *

 **AN:** Whew! This was heavy! Even though we haven't arrived at the farm yet, I think this chapter is important just to highlight the traumatic past that Grace has. I tried to follow the game story as much as I could, but definitely made a few modifications. Please review and follow if you like it, there are more to come!


	3. Chapter 2 - The Bus Ride

The ride to the valley on the south shore was going to take about 12 hours, so I settled into my seat, immediately feeling a wave of nerves, anxiety and regret wash over me. I had never done something so impulsive in my whole life. I knew absolutely nothing about farming and not much time to learn. I decided this decision would either be the best thing that ever happened to me, or the worst. But whatever the outcome, the choice had been made, and I watched as the doors of the bus closed, literally sealing my fate.

After I had bought the ticket, I ran to the ATM and took out all of the money I could from my bank account. The machine drew the limit at 500g, which left little for Connor, but it also left little for me. I hoped to Yoba that this would be enough for a small start-up on the farm. It was just after 8:00 in the morning, and Connor probably wasn't out of bed yet, so he wouldn't realize the money was missing until at least later.

I had also dug a little further into the envelope left by my grandfather and found the deed to the farm, and a small card that had the name and a phone number of a Mayor Lewis Johnson. The card looked so old that I wondered if this Lewis was still alive, after all the letter had been given to me 20 years ago. This also meant that the farm had been unoccupied for two decades. At this thought, I groaned. When I was settled in on the bus, I took my cellphone out and dialed the number on the card. I wanted to talk to someone and maybe give a small warning that I was arriving. I had no idea where the farm even was, and I'm sure they would be equally shocked to see a young girl show up in their town with a deed to an abandoned farm.

I held my phone up to my ear and prayed someone answered.

"Hello! Pierre's general store!" a man's voice answered after a few rings.

"Oh…hello." I was a little crestfallen, "I believe I must have the wrong number, but I hope you can help me. My name is Grace Grant, and I'm looking to speak with a Mayor Lewis…if he is available," I replied softly.

"With Mayor Lewis? Of course! There is only one telephone in Stardew Valley, so I take messages for most of the residents. It sounds a little archaic but we are a fairly small community. You said your name was Grant?"

"Yes." I said, relieved that this man seemed so helpful, and that this Mayor was still kicking.

"Lewis stepped out a little while ago, but he often spends time in front of my store. Let me see if I can catch him for you. Wait one minute." I heard the phone being put down and a soft hum of people talking in the store. I heard voices, but couldn't make out any words.

After a minute or so, a different voice answered the phone: "Mayor Lewis speaking," it said. "I only knew one Mr. Grant in my lifetime, and I was told one day I might be lucky enough to get a call from a young Miss Grant. Would I be wrong in assuming you are holding an opened letter in your hands, miss?"

Tears wells up in my eyes. I was so nervous that this small town would have no idea who I was, or worse still, would reject me. The kind voice on the end of the line gave me more reassurance than I had ever experienced in my life. I choked a response: "Hello Mr. Mayor. I am quite pleased to be able to speak with you. Yes, I am holding the letter in my hands, as well as a deed to a farm. This may all come as a shock, but I just boarded the bus and am on my way to Stardew Valley as we speak. I will most likely arrive around 8:00 this evening. I hope this doesn't impose on you too much, sir, but I may be in need of a small bit of assistance when I arrive."

He seemed elated. "Miss Grant—may I call you Grace? I would be delighted to help you in any way I possibly can. You will need to get off the bus at the Pelican Town stop, and I will meet you there. We can walk to your farm together and go over some basics. It is really no trouble at all." He paused and I heard him speak away from the phone: " _Alright quiet down, I can barely hear the poor girl_ " then returned to the line "I apologize miss, the news of your arrival has caused quite a bustle in the store here. I'm sure it will spread like wildfire. Its not everyday that something this exciting happens in Pelican Town."

I smiled. I felt like a celebrity. This made me excited, but also slightly nervous. I hoped they weren't expecting some grand, experienced farmer who would transform the place overnight. I began to feel worried that they would be a little disappointed in what they saw. I was grateful to the Mayor however: "Yes, of course you may call me Grace. Thank you so much Mayor Lewis," I said to him, still smiling, "I really look forward to meeting you."

"From the looks of it, we are all looking forward to meeting you as well. Safe travels, my dear. I shall see you very soon."

This all felt so surreal. Was I actually on a bus, driving away from everything I knew? Connor would be worried, or maybe just furious. I don't think he ever believed that I would actually walk out, and truthfully, neither did I. I wondered how long it would take before he started calling. Apart from him, there was nothing I was leaving in the city that had any value to me. I didn't care for the beer-stained furniture and sweaty bedsheets of the apartment, I had no car, no job, no friends and no savings. The only person I had was Connor, and as much as I had needed him for years, I felt so uncharacteristically empowered that leaving him felt almost logical. I wondered how long it would take me to miss him.

I looked out the bus window and saw that we were leaving the city. What a day this had been, and it was not even 9:00. If someone had told me when I had woken that I would be on a bus out of town before noon, I would have laughed in their face. But there I was. I fished an old magazine out of the box from my office and started reading mindlessly. After a few minutes, the words began to blur as I started to day dream about what life on the farm would be like. These dreams carried through several hours of the bus ride.

Suddenly I opened my eyes. I hadn't even realized I had been asleep. I looked around, almost sure that this had all been a dream, but there I was in the bus. There were only a few other people now, most of the passengers had gotten off at previous stops while I had been asleep. I blinked a few times and looked out the window. The sun was getting low in the sky and turning the rolling hills and mountains orange and pink. They didn't call it "cloud country" for nothing. The clouds were ablaze with fiery colors and made the sky look like a watercolor painting. Even if it was the view from a bus window, it still beat every view I had ever had in the city. I took my cellphone out of my pocket and saw that it was just after 5:00, and I had two text messages; both from Connor. My heart skipped a few beats in fear. I didn't want to read them, but I decided to anyway. I opened the inbox and my eyes scanned the two text messages.

 _(2:46 pm) Pick up a pizza on your way home_

 _(5:08 pm) Why aren't you home yet?_

The last message was received only minutes before, and I wondered if that's what had woken me up. I had to breathe deeply to prevent myself from shaking too much.

Just then two more messages popped up onto the screen.

 _(5:10 pm) Bank account balance?_

 _(5:10 pm) Grace where are you_

The words jutted out at me from the screen and my heart raced in panic. He knows something is wrong, I thought. I shoved the phone back into my pocket, hoping that it would stop the messages, but then I heard the ringtone. It was loud, and I could feel a few people turn their heads to look at me in annoyance. I quickly pressed the silence button, and let the call go to voicemail. I was determined to not answer any of his calls, but I was worried that perhaps he would think something happened to me and call the police. I almost laughed at that suggestion. Phoning the police would be like turning himself in for domestic violence. No, I'm was sure he would call and call, but my battery would only last so long and I didn't have a phone charger. I would have to live without the phone, and doubted there was cellphone reception in Pelican Town anyway.

I spent the next few hours worrying about the choices I had made and whether they were the right ones. I was determined the follow through, but terrified to fail. I told myself that the next bus back to the city was in one week, so I would give it a shot for the week. If things were completely and utterly miserable and worse than being with Connor and working at Joja, I would take the bus back to the city and slink back to my old life with my tail between my legs. If I sold the farm, I'm sure the revenue would be a good appeasement for Connor's anger, at least for a while. However, if this new life was brighter by even the tiniest speck of light, then I would keep at it. That sounded like a good compromise to me.

The sun set and the sky dimmed until only blue, crystal, evening light lit up the countryside. It was almost spring and the air was warm during the days, but the evenings were still slightly cool. I hoped the farmhouse had heating, or at least a fireplace. I wondered if there was any wood in the woodpile.

My cellphone time read 7:56, and had 8 missed calls from Connor when the bus emerged from a tunnel and abruptly stopped. The driver shouted "Pelican Town!". I took a deep breath, grabbed my box of miscellaneous office items that seemed so out of place, and walked to the front of the bus. My first step off the bus and onto the soil was unexpected. I thought there would be some kind of depot, or platform or even a sidewalk, but the bus stop was a small, fenced in clearing. There were a few bushes and lush trees and a small dirt path leading towards the fence. Looking left and right, there was nowhere else to go besides the tunnel into which the bus disappeared and the tunnel from which we came. I really was in the middle of nowhere.

There was still a good amount of light, and I could see a figure moving up the dirt path towards me. I must have looked so forlorn, standing in my dress shirt, skirt and nylons, clutching a cardboard box of papers, staplers and file folders. I couldn't help but think again about how unprepared I was. As the person got closer, I could make out her face. She was a tall, muscular woman shaped like a box. She had wide shoulders, straight hips and a square jaw, but pretty eyes and bright red hair tied up in a messy bun. She stopped a few feet from me, and for a moment no one spoke. We were both just staring at each other until she broke the silence.

"Hello, I'm Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home." Her voice was much softer than I had expected, "He's there right now, tidying things up for your arrival" How kind, I thought.

She turned back towards the fence and started walking along the path. "The farm's this way, if you'll follow me," she said to me. I took my first few steps in Stardew Valley and followed her to the fence, where the path continued to the left and the right. We turned to the right and walked through a small wooded area in silence. After a few moments, the trees cleared and I found myself looking at a little wooden cottage overlooking a terribly overgrown field. There were weeds, stones and trees everywhere. I gasped and started to sweat, thinking about how much time it would take to clear everything out.

"This is Grant Farm," Robin said cooly, "Sure it's a bit overgrown, but there is some good soil underneath all that mess!" She laughed. "With a little dedication, you'll have it cleared up in no time." She glanced down at my skirt and leather shoes, but didn't make any comments. I felt my face get hot as I realized how silly I must have looked. Just then, a man came out of the cottage. He was short and wearing a green shirt and brown suspenders. His face was round and his grey hair was covered by a brown cap. He also had a matching bushy grey mustache. I guessed that this was the mayor.

"Ah! The new farmer!" he exclaimed happily, "Welcome! I am Lewis, Mayor of Pelican Town!" He seemed very official, and I found it odd that he was once again reminding me that he was the mayor. But, he was giving me so much help that I just smiled at him. "You know," he continued, "everybody is expecting you. Its not every day that someone moves in. Its quite a big deal." He looked me up and down quickly. "Although I'm not sure you are exactly _what_ we were expecting!"

We small talked about the field and the cottage. It seemed a little run down, a fact to which Robin snickered at, but the Mayor reminded me that she was the carpenter, and any business I needed with construction would go through her. He reassured me that the cottage was perfectly sound.

"You must be exhausted," Lewis said, "I think you should get some rest. Tomorrow, come into town and meet the townsfolk. They would really appreciate that." The two interesting people started for the forest path that lead back to the bus stop, and Lewis turned to face me once again. "I almost forgot," he said to me, pointing to a wooden box with a lid on the grass, "If you have anything to sell, place it in this box here. I'll come by during the night to collect it."

They both wished me good luck, and left me alone. I was completely by myself, standing on the porch of a strange wooden cottage, hundreds of miles away from the only home I knew. I was terrified, but also exhausted. I turned slowly and opened the front door. It creaked slightly. The room was dimly lit by an overhead lamp, but I was thrilled to see that the Mayor had lit a fire in the fireplace and the room was warm and cozy. The entire cottage was only one room; a bed lay in the corner on the right, the fireplace was in the other right corner, and there was a small table with a chair. In the far left corner, there was an old TV set and a house plant that looked fake and a little dusty. That was everything. I groaned, thinking that there must be an outhouse out back. I set my box down on the table and looked over at the bed. There was something laid across it. As I walked up, I saw that it was a few old T-shirts, a pair of blue overalls and a white collared shirt. There were also a few pairs of knit socks. The note on top of the pile read: _I had these lying around from a few years ago and thought you might need them more than me. Welcome to the valley, neighbor_! It was signed "Marnie". On the floor beside the bed there was a pair of brown boots with a smaller, more scribbled note: _Too small for me, but they should fit you. Welcome. -Clint_. How kind and thoughtful these people were for leaving me these things I needed most. I pulled off my inappropriate clothes and threw a T-shirt over my head. It was big and hung almost to my knees, but I quickly shut off the light and crawled into bed. Somewhere far away a wolf howled and an owl hooted. I could hear the wind rustling, the birds saying goodnight to each other and a few early crickets. This was my first night alone in my life. I missed Connor's snores and sour boozy breath. I missed the drip of the bathroom sink and the car horns and sirens outside. I stared at the ceiling, trying to force the memory of Mr. Osman's hand on my breast out of my mind. It was no use. I cried myself to sleep, having nightmare after nightmare of his sweaty hand between my legs.


End file.
